INDIAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL ADVANCEMENTS

J o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. n a c d . i n

REVIEW

Root Caries - A Problem of Growing Age

Vikram Bansal1, Ramandeep Kaur Sohi2, Veeresha K L3, Adarsh kumar4,
Ramandeep Singh Gambhir5, Shelly Bansal6

Sr Lecturer1
Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry
M. M. College of Dental Sciences & Research,
Mullana (Ambala), Haryana, India.
Sr Lecturer2
Professor3
M. M. College of Dental Sciences & Research, Mullana.
Assistant professor4
PGI Dental College, Rohtak
Sr Lecturer5
Gian Sagar Dental College, Banur, Rajpura
Senior dental surgeon6
Bansal Dental Care Centre, Ambala.
Article Info
Received: October 12, 2010
Review Completed: November 16, 2010
Accepted: December 13, 2010
Available Online: April, 2011
NAD, 2011 - All rights reserved

ABSTRACT:
Root caries is now considered a major dental public health
problem for the middle aged and elderly. Root caries is related to
a subject's dental health behaviour, normally constant, this
association produces a greater effect among older people. The
older a person is, the longer he/she has been exposed to risk
factors, and the greater their outcomes have been. The aetiology
of root caries is multifactorial of which microbiological factor plays
a critical role. The elderly are usually more vulnerable to root caries
because of several medical conditions. Many older patients use
medications that reduce salivary flow and cause them to have dry
mouth. Root caries can be diagnosed by a dentist during regular
dental examination. Treatment of root caries generally requires
the placement of a restoration or crown. A number of studies have
been conducted on the prevalence and factors associated with root
caries, yet our knowledge of this disease process remain limited.
The fact that too little is known about this disease in the face of an
increasing proportion of the population at risk, should provide the
stimulus for further research and development related to the
recognition, etiology, treatment and prevention of root caries.
Key words: Root caries, dry mouth, elderly, dental caries, oral
hygiene.

INTRODUCTION
Root surface caries has affected mankind for
centuries but little attention has been paid to this
condition until recently, probably due to the extent
of the effort in dealing with coronal caries.1
Root caries lesions were defined as soft,
progressive, destructive lesions, either totally
confined to the root surface or involving
undermining of enamel at the cemento-enamel
junction but clinically indicating the lesion initiated
on the root surface (Katz, 1980).2
Email for correspondence:
vikrambansal2001@gmail.com

418 IJDA, 3(1), January-March, 2011

Root caries is now been considered as a major

dental public problem for the elderly. There are three
main inter-related arguments supporting this
statement. Firstly, life expectancies at both birth and
age 65 have been increasing markedly in
industrialised societies. Secondly, there is ample
evidence showing that periodontal disease increases
with age due to its cumulative nature. Thus most old
adults may have some gingival recession and alveolar
bone loss, which shall predispose the person to suffer
from root caries. The final argument states that the
observed improvement in oral health is causing the
elderly to experience a higher retention of teeth,

Root Caries - A Problem of Growing Age

which implies an increased number of exposed root

surfaces susceptible to caries.3 The dental health
status of the elderly is improving due to the provision
of specialist dental care, the wider availability of
dental health education, growing dental awareness
and the widespread use of fluoride-containing
toothpastes. Therefore the number of elderly
retaining some or most of their natural teeth is
significantly greater than only a few years ago and
will continue to grow in the coming decades. 4 While
root caries is related to a subjects dental health
behaviour, normally constant from year to year, this
association produces a greater effect among older
people. The older a person is, the longer he/she has
been exposed to risk factors, and the greater their
outcome has been. For example, the use of sugar in
coffee or tea, combined with irregular check-ups,
doubled the risk of root caries for the oldest subjects
compared with middle-aged subjects.5
Globally, proportion of the population over 65
years of age who are dentates is increasing. The
prevalence of root caries lesions was reported by
various studies as ranging from 36% to 67% 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Hellyer (1990) reported the prevalence of 88. 4% in
people aged 55 years and above11. Imazato S (1990)
reported that 39% of the subjects had one or more
decayed roots.
Within a person (i. e. , within a mouth) there is a
characteristic pattern of root caries attack which is
influenced by several factors including the number
and type of natural teeth remaining and the
propensity of the root surfaces of those teeth to
exhibit gingival recession. Old age people usually
have several teeth missing which limits the study of
the pattern of root caries in a person but many of the
teeth which are missing may actually be those most
susceptible to root caries. Indeed, they may be
missing as a consequence of root caries, even though
most tooth loss in adults has traditionally been
attributed to advanced periodontal disease. Katz et
al have shown that, like enamel caries, root caries
tends to primarily affect mandibular molars with a

Ramandeep Singh Gambhir, et, al.

decreasing susceptibility for premolars and incisors.

In the maxillary arch the anterior teeth have higher
root caries rates than the mandibular teeth. Although
the rate of gingival recession was similar for each
tooth type, the widely variable root caries rates
suggest that specific intra-oral factors, as yet
undefined, may determine the pattern of root caries
attack. Considerable controversy has arisen regarding
the tooth root surfaces most frequently affected by
caries. The evidence suggests that either facial or
interproximal surfaces are primarily affected followed
by lingual surfaces.12
RISK FACTORS13
Risk factors associated with the high prevalence of
root caries among older adults include:


Decrease salivary flow or xerostomia,

Exposure of root surfaces due to periodontal

(gingival) disease,

Chronic medical conditions,

Radiation treatment for head and neck

cancer,

Physical limitations,

Diminished manual dexterity due to stroke,

arthritis, or Parkinsons disease,

Cognitive deficits due to mental illness,

depression, Alzheimers disease or dementia,
Sjgrens syndrome (an autoimmune
disease),

Diabetes,

Poor oral hygiene,

Multiple medication use,

Changes in dietary habits.

Previous root caries experience, either in the

form of filled surfaces or decayed untreated
lesions is also a potent risk factor for the
development of new lesions.

Removable partial dentures are important

independent risk indicator for root caries.14
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419

Root Caries - A Problem of Growing Age

The aetiology of root caries is multifactorial of

which microbiological factor plays a critical role. The
microbiological nature of the associated plaque biofilm is different from that associated with crown
caries (supragingival plaque) even though plaque
associated with root caries is technically still a
supragingival plaque. The microbiology of this biofilm has been the subject of numerous investigations
over the years, however, only recently have the
problems associated with sampling of the infected
underlying dentine been identified and addressed.
While there is ample evidence to imply a strong
association between mutans group of streptococci
and coronal caries, similar data on microbiological
agents in root caries is poorly understood.15
The bacterial flora of root caries was more
diverse than previously reported, and found that the
previously mentioned species (viz. Actinomyces
viscosus / naeslundii and Lactobacilli) played less of
a role.
Aerobic Gram-positive cocci (Staphylococcus spp.
and Streptococcus spp.) as well as anaerobic ones
(Peptostreptococcus spp.), and Candida albicans were
reported by one study to occur most frequently in
root caries lesion in middle-aged and older adults.
More recently, culture independent studies have
focused either on single species such as S. mutans
and Actinomyces naeslundii or on the analysis of
microbial derived organic acids. Several other studies
have investigated advanced dentinal lesions from
coronal caries with molecular methods, but they were
not designed to study root caries in particular. Overall,
the present understanding of the microflora of root
caries is limited compared to other infectious oral
diseases.16
The clinical investigators who studied root caries
provided clinical descriptions of the signs and
symptoms of root caries lesions. The most commonly
used clinical signs to describe root caries utilized
visual (colour, contour, surface cavitation) and tactile
(surface texture) specifications. There are no reported
420 IJDA, 3(1), January-March, 2011

Ramandeep Singh Gambhir, et, al.

clinical symptoms of root caries although pain may

be present in advanced lesions.13 This may be one of
the reasons why the middle aged and older adults
have advanced root caries lesions but do not report
for their treatment.
MANAGEMENT OF ROOT CARIES
Prevention of occurrence of root caries may be
difficult because root caries often arises in older
people who are otherwise also having problems in
maintaining good levels of oral hygiene. In addition,
older people are frequently taking medication which
depresses salivary flow and this xerostomia makes
dental caries more likely to occur. Tranquillizers,
antidepressants, antihypertensives and diuretics all
have a xerostomic effect. The feeling of a dry mouth
may be alleviated by sucking sweets or taking
frequent drinks, many of which are cariogenic. Finally,
retirement, bereavement, or illness may result in
dietary changes which may favour caries.17
Maintenance or improvement of oral hygiene is
the first step towards prevention. Specific measures
like use of powered toothbrushes and chemical
plaque control measures may be advocated. Addition
of fluorides to daily use oral hygiene aids like
toothpastes and use of chlorhexidine gluconate have
also shown promising results. 18,19 Primordial
prevention of root caries lies in the prevention of
gingival and periodontal disease.
Older subjects should undergo regular screening
for root caries as there are no or almost negligible
symptoms which shall create environment for carious
lesions to go unnoticed and hence jeopardize the oral
health of the individual.
Root surfaces being softer, use of force while
probing should be avoided or at least minimized.
Antiseptics, and/or remineralizing products with
calcium phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium
Phosphate (CPP-ACP) also show a ray of hope in the
management of root caries. Regimens to stimulate
salivary flow, such as chewing gum with or without

Root Caries - A Problem of Growing Age

the inclusion of active ingredients (e. g., chlorhexidine,

xylitol, CPP-ACP), sucking sugarless candies, sucking
buffered citric/fruit acid tablets, using systemic
cholinergic medications (e. g. , pilocarpine/ cimeviline,
with monitoring of adverse effects) prescribing saliva
substitutes, such as gels, sprays and liquids, with
placement around dentures as well as on teeth and
oral soft tissues are among those possible ways which
can alleviate xerostomia and hence prevent root
caries.
A maturation effect may occur once a root
surface has been exposed to the oral environment
for a period of time rendering the root less
susceptible to caries. This would be secondary to the
effects of preventive measures i. e. , if root lesions do
not occur within a period of time after the root is
exposed to the oral environment, it may never
occur.20
From a public health viewpoint, it is of major
importance to know whether root caries is a disease
entity basically different from coronal caries. Hence,
if the caries process is essentially the same on coronal
and root surfaces, it should be expected to respond
to the same preventive measures in a similar way
regardless to its topography on the tooth.21
Treatment strategies for root caries rely on the
clinical examination and are determined by the size,
type, extent & location of the lesion, aesthetic
requirements as well as the physical & mental
condition of the patient. The clinical success rate
depends on the degree of recession and the defect.22
Grafting of gingival recessions is indicated when
there is lack of attached gingiva and when gingival
recession is aesthetically objectionable. So, it can be
used as measure for primordial prevention of root
caries. Even the presence of cervical caries at the site
has been found as not compromising the treatment
outcome. 23
Resin-modified glass ionomer cement and resin
composite materials appear to be better choices in a
long-term scenario because of their lower solubility
when compared with conventional glass ionomers.23

Ramandeep Singh Gambhir, et, al.

Ozone therapy can be considered as an

alternative management strategy for root caries. Use
of 10% sodium hypochlorite (oxidant) on
demineralised root dentine lesions has been shown
to improve their potential to remineralise since
sodium hypochlorite is a non-specific proteolytic
agent. Studies have shown that when root dentine
samples were treated with sodium hypochlorite, the
permeability of fluoride ions increased. Removal of
organic materials from dentine lesions was an
acceptable approach to enhance remineralisation.24,
25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

The management of root caries in elderly

subjects is compounded by several factors. Various
preventive as well as treatment strategies, as
mentioned, are available to manage root caries. Their
use in such a tender age as of elderly is required to
be rational and applied with care.
SUMMARY
In summary, current literature suggests that
people are living longer, retaining their teeth for
greater time and having more root surfaces exposed,
thus increasing the risk of root caries. In addressing
these arguments, however, some researchers have
argued that the decrease in mortality and likewise
increase in tooth retention were due to
improvements in the social environment and positive
oral health behaviours. Thus, older adults may not
have more root caries in the future. The present study
focuses on few of these issues and suggests a need
for further studies in this subject.
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